Stargate SG1: Time In Between
by Caitlin-Todd
Summary: A simple reacon mission soon turns out to be everything but simple when SG-1 discovers that Vala has a past history there, which could very well put them all in danger. D/V.
1. Chapter 1

**Title: **Time In Between

**Author:** Caitlin-Todd

**Pairing: **D/V

**Spoilers: **None

**Disclaimer: **Don't own any of it except the non-Stargate characters but they're not as awesome.

**A/N: **So the time has finally come for me to write my very first _Stargate SG-1_ fan fiction. I gotta say, I'm somewhat surprised myself it didn't happen sooner. Long story short, I've been obsessed with the show ever since watching the _The Pegasus Project_ for the first time. So yes, I'm a deeply devoted Vala Mal Doran fan and without her I wouldn't even watch the show so you can imagine what my fan fictions will focus on. Also, English is my second language so parden any possible grammar errors and sorry if some words are actually missing... I type fast, but sometimes my mind skips ahead.

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CHAPTER I

"See, I got it all figured out! Since this is a simple meet-and-greet mission I doubt it'll take more than a few hours, so there's really no reason for us to be missing the party!" Vala exclaimed with a big grin on her face and the others, Daniel in particular, gave her a look. Ever since hearing about the big fancy yearly party, Vala hadn't been able to focus on anything else. At first her excitement had been somewhat cute but after hearing her go on and on about the party non-stop for almost a week, the rest of the team wasn't sure they could put up with much more. Daniel knew for sure he couldn't but Vala disregarded all his attempts at shutting her up and thankfully by now they were half a day away from the party's deadline.

"I believe I speak for all of _us_ when I say that this mission tops the party. But if you wanna sit this one out and go to the party instead, we'd _completely_ understand. I'm sure General Landry won't mind giving you the day off," Daniel said sarcastically but Vala instantly waved him off.

"No no, it's quite alright. I did all the necessary calculations this morning and unless we actually happen to stumble across Ori soldiers, which I seriously doubt, we'll be back _hours_ before the party's even started!" Vala said with an ecstatic smile and Daniel rolled his eyes, barely suppressing a grunt.

"Look, princess, might I suggest you focus a little more on the mission at hand and little less on tonight's party?" Cam said as they rounded the corner to the Gate room. Vala opened her mouth to interject, but then noticed Cam's glare and put on an innocent smile.

"Sure thing, boss!" she said and looked ahead, clearly avoiding eye contact with Cam at the moment.

"Why do I get the feeling that this is gonna be a _very_ long day?" Cam whispered to Sam and Daniel.

"Oh, come on, you can't really blame her for being so excited. After all, this is her first official party and hopefully it'll be another couple of years until the next one," Sam whispered back with a hopeful sigh. She of all people knew how much Vala had been looking forward to the party; they'd spent the past week planning for it together. Vala had insisted on Sam's opinion when it came to deciding on what outfit to wear and generally knowing how people acted at these social events. After spending nearly the entire week answering random questions regarding the party, Sam sincerely hoped Vala would calm down once the party was over and done with.

"It would seem Vala Mal Doran has us all wishing for this party to be over as soon as possible," Teal'c said with a tiring voice just as the team entered the Gate room. Vala, who'd gone ahead, waited for the others over by the ramp with a pleasant look on her face.

"I think I like her better when she's whining and complaining," Cam muttered as they walked over to Vala. While waiting for the wormhole to open up, Daniel glanced over at Vala and wondered if that pleasant expression was becoming a permanent fixture. He wasn't sure he'd ever seen her this serene before and part of him wished it was a regular thing, while another part of him knew that she'd be even more annoying. Daniel abruptly snapped out of his thoughts when he realized Vala gave him a slightly puzzled look, clearly wondering why he was staring at her. Luckily he didn't get a chance to try and talk his way out of the awkward situation when the Stargate activated, opening up the wormhole. Without another word, the team stepped through the Stargate together to be transported to yet another new unexplored planet. Or so they thought.

* * *

When they arrived through the Stargate on planet PXY-645 the team scouted out their surroundings. The planet seemed to consist mostly of forest and the climate was bordering on the side of humid, but otherwise PXY-645 was one of the more appealing planets they'd been to.

"Here's a silly question for ya. Do we have some kind of proof that these people are…friendly?" Cam asked hesitantly while looking around the forest.

"Not exactly, so how about we're keeping an open mind?" Daniel said and Cam stared at him.

"Fine. But if anyone tries anything fishy, I say we get the hell outta here and let them deal with the Priors themselves.""Glad to hear you're keeping an open mind."

"So," Sam interjected. "Shall we get going then? We wouldn't want to miss the party."

Daniel and Cam both turned looked over at Sam before slowly turning towards Vala, whom had been surprisingly quiet so far. She glanced around the woods with an unsettling look on her face, oblivious to others staring at her.

"Something the matter?" Cam asked impatiently and Vala snapped out of her daze, turning to look at the others with a nervous smile.

"I just thought I recognized this place. Guess that's what happens when you've traveled as much as I have," she said and shrugged.

"Right. Well then, now that we've cleared that up, how about we do what we came here for?" Daniel said tiredly and hinted towards the small path leading away from the Stargate.

"Good idea," Sam said and Vala nodded along.

"We wouldn't want to keep the villagers waiting. Poor souls probably don't get many visitors," she joked and headed down the path without waiting for the others.

"Is it just me or is she being weirder than usual?" Cam muttered to Daniel.

"At least she's not nagging about the party," Daniel sighed. "Works for me."

He looked at the others and shrugged before following Vala's lead. Sam and Cam shared a look before falling into stride behind him.

The forest was thicker the further they got, eventually nearly blocking out all the sunlight from time to time. Vala looked up at the enormous intertwined tree crowns and inhaled the strangely familiar smell of the nearby flowers. She suddenly stopped dead in her tracks as she was struck by a very disturbing realization.

"It can't be…" she mumbled to herself, ignoring the gnawing feeling inside of her. Everything was too familiar to just be an uncanny coincidence. Not even Vala was foolish enough to believe that two seemingly identical planets had no connection with each other.

"What?" Daniel asked with an annoyed expression. Vala quickly turned around facing him, suppressing the urge to run the other way.

"What?" she echoed and gave Daniel a dumbfounded look.

"You got that look again," he muttered. "Plus, you're holding up the line."

Vala let out a relieved breath, smiling nervously at Daniel.

"Oh, right. Sorry. Guess my mind was elsewhere. Besides, I really think you should be leading the way, darling! I'm terrible at this sort of thing," she blurted and Daniel sighed.

"Whatever you say," he said and squeezed past Vala, taking the lead.

"You okay?" Sam asked with a concerned look as she walked up alongside Vala.

"Just peachy!" Vala nodded with a hesitant smile and hurried after the others.

* * *

"You know what would make the party just perfect? If you were to accompany me!"

Daniel gave Vala a sideway glance, trying to focus on finding his way to the village. Vala's nagging regarding the party had however not ceased just yet despite her earlier behavior and Daniel almost wished she'd go back to acting weird.

"Or, you know, we could always skip the party entirely and have some fun just the two of us…" Vala suddenly whispered and Daniel turned to stare at her, struggling to come up with a clever retort.

"Jackson!"

Daniel and Vala simultaneously turned around at the sound of Cam's voice.

"Yeah?" Daniel called out hesitantly, slowly taking a step back from Vala.

"Hate to interrupt your little discussion," Cam grinned as he saw the look on Daniel's face. "But it seems that you just missed a pretty big clue."

Daniel and Vala followed Cam's hand gesture, noticing a tiny stonewall house on their far left. The house was partly hidden behind some bushes but the chimney smoke made it hard to miss.

"Well that's hardly a _big_ clue," Vala shrugged and began to turn around but Daniel quickly grabbed a hold of her arm before she took another step.

"_But_ I'm sure it's enough to help us find out the location of the nearest village. That way this whole thing will be over much faster," he muttered and let go of Vala's arm once she was facing the house. She looked over at it and pouted, desperately wanting to keep heading in the opposite direction.

"Must we really?" she whined and Daniel gave her a stern look, making it clear that the discussion was over and that she'd lost.

"So let's going kids. These woods are giving me the creeps," Cam muttered and Sam gave him a playful nudge.

"Got up on the wrong side of bed this morning, did we?" she said and Cam rolled his eyes.

"It would seem Colonel Mitchell is right. I do not believe we have much time before nightfall," Teal'c joined in and Vala suddenly got a lump stuck in her throat.

"And we wouldn't want to miss the big party," Daniel said dryly with a meaningful look at Vala, who just barely managed to put on a smile in response as they made their way over to the house.

"Who wanna do the honors?" Cam asked once they reached the door, all eyes turned to Daniel.

"Fine," he sighed and started knocking on the wooden door. The team members all exchanged glances while waiting for someone to open the door.

"Guess nobody's home?" Cam whispered with a shrug and in that moment a middle-aged woman and man suddenly appeared in the doorway, both with surprised looks on their face. But it wasn't just because they had visitors from beyond their planet.

"_You_?!" the man cried out in disbelief and all eyes turned to Vala. She opened her mouth to speak but remained speechless, getting that terrible feeling again. By the looks on everyone's faces, she knew she was in for a world load of trouble.

* * *

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **I'm, to say the least, pleased with all the e-mails I've recieved from this past week. Your reviews are solid gold, as well as all the alerts! It's almost overwhelming to see the interest some readers have taken in this story and hopefully I won't disappoint you in the end. I'm however sorry that this update didn't come sooner; I'm extremely busy with my internship during the weekdays so the chapter updates will most likely only occur on the weekends. Also, this chapter appears to be the shortest one yet in the story and I did plan on changing that but these chapters have been carefully planned so I'd rather not mess them up. Hopefully you'll enjoy it all the same anyway...

**A/N II: **While writing this story I got hooked on Meredith Brooks' "I'm A Bitch" which became like the soundtrack to the story, and it did help keep the inspiration flowing. In the end, I'd listened to the song roughly 680 times and I still listen to it from time to time seeing as how it's a Vala song. Just felt like sharing the fun with you guys. 

**

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**

**CHAPTER II  
**

"Who? Me?" Vala said and pointed to herself, a nervous laughter escaping her. It didn't improve the tense silence and Vala hated the way everyone was looking at her, especially Daniel. The shock and disappointment in his eyes made Vala curse herself for her ignorant stupidity earlier.

"Are you not Vala Mal Doran? We thought you'd never return after what happened," the woman said with a shocked expression.

"Well, it wasn't exactly my intention of returning. In fact, how about we pretend I was never here? Hmm? Certainly wouldn't want to cause any trouble," Vala said nervously while avoiding her teammates' stares.

"A little late for that don't ya think? So, mind telling us what the hell is going on here, Vala?" Cam said sternly.

"Remember when I said I thought I recognized this planet? Turns out I was right. See, I sort of… might have… during some point …stayed here a few years back. I was merely passing through while avoiding a certain stubborn bounty hunter. Needless to say, my sudden departure could've gone better," Vala explained with vivid hand gestures and a nervous smile.

"In others words you stole from them?" Daniel said and Vala hesitantly met his gaze.

"Something along those lines, yes. And before you ask, the reason I didn't tell you about my time here is because I honestly didn't believe it was the same planet!" Vala said and looked at Sam, relieved to see that she believed in what Vala was saying.

"Excuse me, Ms. Mal Doran, but what are you doing here? I don't believe Alias will be pleased to see you again," the man suddenly said and everyone turned their attention back to him and his wife.

"That's a pretty safe bet I'd say," Vala mumbled and Daniel glared at her.

"Nevertheless, we came here for a reason and despite your past history with this Alias that reason hasn't changed. So I say we make the best of the situation and go about our business," Cam said and Vala scoffed at his suggestion almost instantly, causing the others to turn their attention over to her.

"Something on your mind, princess?" Cam muttered and Vala shrugged nonchalantly.

"Just the mere fact that Alias will most likely kill us the first chance he gets. The man is completely wonko!" she said and made an unpleasant face.

"Yeah, we got that. This isn't our first possible hostile situation believe it or not," Daniel said and Vala rolled her eyes at him, walking up alongside Sam instead.

"So…" Cam started, facing the man and woman. "How about you guys show us to the village?"

"That won't be necessary."

Vala felt the blood in her veins freeze up at the sound of the familiar voice. Judging from the man and woman's expressions, she could tell her first instinct had been right. Daniel, Cam, Sam and Teal'c all turned around with their weapons drawned but they were vastly outnumbered by the group of villagers. In the front stood a middle-aged man, dressed from top to bottom in worn out leather. His face bore the scars of past battles and Daniel couldn't help but notice that he only had a total of nine fingers. All in all, this Alias character looked twice as scary as they would've imagined.

Vala still had her back turned to Alias and the villagers, silently praying lightning would strike down on them any moment but no such luck.

"Well, well! If it isn't the lovely Vala Mal Doran! Never thought I'd see you again," Alias called out and Vala could practically feel his eyes wandering up and down her body, sending shivers down her spine.

"Alias!" she said as she reluctantly turned around facing him. "What a coincidence to run into you!"

"So what brings you here, Vala? Reconsidered my offer after all these years?" Alias asked and Vala went pale.

"Oh right, _that_ offer. Well, the thing is I'm actually here on behalf of planet Earth. Guess you could call us the anti-Ori group. We're here to see if your planet has succumbed to the Ori religion and if not, hopefully raising some awareness regarding their so-called religion," Vala explained hastily and Alias gave her a knowing look.

"I've never heard of these Ori before. So, how about a tour of the village? I'm sure you'd want some refreshments and in the meantime perhaps you could 'raise awareness' about the Ori," he said and turned his attention to the other members of SG-1.

"Sounds like a fair trade," Cam said with a shrug and they slowly lowered their weapons.

"Excellent! Follow me!" Alias announced and the crowd turned around on their heels and headed down the same path Daniel and Vala had been on earlier.

* * *

Vala was surprised at how familiar everything in the village looked, but she was even more surprised at people's reactions when they saw her walk by.

"Looks like we're hanging with a celebrity," Cam whispered and Vala tried smiling at his little joke but her face remained somewhat unsettled.

"What was that offer Alias mentioned earlier?" Daniel suddenly asked and Vala waved him off.

"It's nothing. So, how'd you like the place? It's quite decent if I do say so myself but then again I guess I'm a little bias," she said, clearly changing the subject but Daniel knew better than to let her get away with it this time.

"_Vala_. What happened between you and Alias? Or more importantly, will it affect the mission?" she asked with a pointedly stare at Vala.

"Oh I highly doubt it," she said nonchalantly and winked at him.

"But if it does?" Daniel pressed on, not liking the look on Vala's face.

"If it does, which I doubt, I have a plan," she said and patted Daniel on the shoulder.

"And why doesn't that reassure me one bit?" Cam said sarcastically.

"Trust me, everything's gonna be fine. You have nothing to worry about," Vala said with a perky smile, which only made the others feel even more uncertain.

"Please tell me that _we've_ got a plan in case her plan screws everything up," Cam whispered to Daniel once Vala had moved out of earshot. She waved to the villagers and greeted them with the usual grin, making cheerful small talk with people as she passed them by.

"Trust me, we will. From the looks of things, this mission just got a whole lot more complicated," Daniel said and Cam grunted.

"It would seem wise to stay close to Vala Mal Doran in case Alias tries to harm her in any way," Teal'c suggested and Sam nodded along.

"I agree. I don't think any of us should be alone with Alias until the mission is over. I have a feeling he probably hasn't quite forgiven Vala for whatever happened last time," she said and Daniel furrowed his brow, looking over in Vala's direction.

"Anyone here got a theory on what really happened? My money's on a lovers quarrel," Cam said and Teal'c raised an eyebrow. "_What_? It's Vala we're talking about! Things tend to go wrong when she's involved, especially when it comes to the male species."

All eyes turned to Daniel briefly and he sighed heavily in return.

"I'll take the first shift babysitting our little troublemaker," he muttered and quickly moved over to Vala before the others could say anything else.

"Well I guess that means we'll stick to the tour. Maybe if we're lucky, Alias could prove useful one way or another," Sam suggested and this time it was Cam's turn to sigh.

"Fine. But if he tries anything I'm reserving the right for forcefully defend myself!" he said and Sam could barely hold back a smile.

"I believe that goes for all of us, Colonel Mitchell," Teal'c said with an agreeable nod.

* * *

**TBC...**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Again, thank you all for your reviews! All the e-mails from is very addictive - so keep 'em coming. Anyways, yesterday I finally recieved my copy of "Stargate: Ark Of Truth" and now that I've seen it, I'm a very happy little fangirl. The movie also helps me out with the Ori storyline, which for me, isn't over quite yet. So enjoy this latest chapter and hopefully you'll find it to your liking. Happy reading!

* * *

**CHAPTER III**

Vala took a healthy bite out of the luscious apple, leaning back in her chair with a pleasant sigh. Daniel glared at her over the tip of the book he was currently trying to read, although Vala's loud chewing kept on distracting him. She finally glanced over in his direction and noticed the annoyed expression on his face.

"Sorry. I missed breakfast this morning. Want one? They're very tasty!" she said and held out the fruit bowl to Daniel.

"I'm surprised you can even think about food right now, what with Alias and everything," he said and Vala put down the bowl with a nonchalant shrug.

"He seems surprisingly forgiving about the whole thing, so I figured I might've make the most of it while it lasts," she said.

"See, it's that kind of talk that makes me wonder if Alias has forgiven you at all. What's to stop him from suddenly taking us all hostages or, you know, just kill us right on the spot?"

"If he does, we'll be ready all thanks to my marvelous plan."

Daniel abruptly slammed the book shut, deciding there was no way he'd be doing any reading until the mission was over and they were safely back at Stargate Command.

"About this plan of yours… any chance it's an actual plan?" he asked and Vala stopped chewing.

"It will be. Honestly, Daniel, when will you learn to trust me?" she said and Daniel stared at her, just barely able to bite back his retort. Vala swallowed the last bite of the apple and got up out of the chair with a bounce in her steps.

"I'm bored," she stated and Daniel continued to stare blankly at her, waiting for some kind of elaboration. But she casually glanced around the guest house while stretching out her arms and suppressing a yawn, oblivious to his stare.

The awkward silence was interrupted by the sudden knock on the door and before either Daniel or Vala had a chance to react, a younger man opened the door and let himself in. Judging by the look on Vala's face, Daniel realized that she'd met the man before.

"Alias requests your present," the man said staring directly at Vala, not even bothering to acknowledge Daniel's present.

"Alright. Well let me get a hold of the others and then –"

Vala was cut off by the man quickly shaking his head in a determined manner.

"This doesn't concern them. Alias want to talk to you alone," he stated. At this, Daniel got on his feet and walked over to Vala.

"With all due respect, that's not gonna happen. Either Alias agrees to meet with all of us or there will be no meeting at all," he said and the man slowly turned his attention to Daniel. Vala glanced between the two, unsure of how the situation would play out. She knew that Alias always got his way no matter how stubborn Daniel was, so she decided to make it easy for everyone involved.

"Daniel, it's okay. I'll see what Alias is up to, meanwhile you and the others focus on what we came here for in the first place," she said, resting a hand on Daniel's shoulder. He stared at her, trying to come up with something to say. Any one of the others could've talked her out of it one way or another, but Daniel already knew there was nothing he could say that would change her mind.

"You sure?" he blurted out and Vala nodded.

"Piece of cake," she said and winked at Daniel before slowly walking out the door. Daniel watched as she made her way across the village with the annoying man by her side.

"This is not good," he sighed.

* * *

"You did _what_?! Jackson, what part of our little pact was unclear?" Cam cried out in disbelief as he kept pacing around the tiny guest house. Daniel leaned up against the wall, arms crossed and a

worried look on his face. Sam leaned against the wall next to him, wanting to say something but wasn't quite sure what that would be. While she sort of agreed with Cam, she also knew how Daniel felt. Once Vala had made up her mind about something it could take an entire army to convince her otherwise.

"She assured me she knew what she was doing and I doubt Alias will try anything while we're here," Daniel finally blurted out and Cam stopped dead in his tracks for a moment.

"Oh, I wouldn't put it past him! The guy is a real scumbag, especially when it comes to women," he said and Daniel abruptly snapped out of his daze.

"What do you mean?" he asked and Cam let out a reluctant sigh, glancing over at Sam. Daniel looked between the two and began to grow impatient when none of them said anything. "Okay, now you're starting to scare me. Did something happen on the tour or what?"

Cam sighed once more, turning his attention back to Daniel again.

"Alias sort of got a little too friendly with Sam. It was nothing she couldn't handle but apparently the guy doesn't take rejection very well. So I'm thinking that whole lover's quarrel thing might be true after all. Of course, we won't know anything for sure unless Vala decides to come clean about the past," he said and continued to pace the house.

"Look, if there really is some sort of personal history between Vala and Alias, it's for them to work out. And if Vala don't wanna tell us about it, we'll just have to trust that it doesn't interfere with the mission," Sam said and Daniel shivered at the thought of Vala and Alias together.

"Thank you, Dr. Phil," Cam said but Sam ignored him, focusing her attention on Daniel instead. She knew how much Vala meant to him whether it was as a partner, friend or something else. He tended to worry about her and sometimes he'd even been overprotected of her, although that was something he would never willingly admit.

"However, I do agree that leaving Vala alone with Alias might not have been the best idea," Sam added hesitantly and Daniel sighed heavily.

"I know. But it's just, I got the feeling she actually wanted to meet with Alias," he said and Cam grunted.

"Now I know _that's_ not good," he muttered.

* * *

"Alright, I'm here. You know, it really wasn't necessary to send your little helper to try and intimidate me," Vala said sternly as she stepped into Alias' house. He got out of his chair with a smirk, his eyes fixated on Vala as he made his way over to her.

"I'm sorry to hear I haven't taught my men better. Baylore, leave us," Alias said with a nonchalant wave at the younger man, who immediately left them without another word. Vala watched as the door closed behind him and then slowly turned back to Alias. She had a funny feeling about the sudden meeting of his. Alias was a man of action, mostly taking to violence before even finishing introductions. Now suddenly he was behaving like a gentleman, or at least what would be considered a gentleman by his standards.

"What are you up to, Alias? This little charade of yours is getting tiresome," Vala said with a sigh, crossed her arms and tilted her head slightly. Alias slowly started circling around her, a soft chuckle escaping him as he came to a stop in front of her.

"Who'd thought Vala Mal Doran would ever step a foot in my village again. If I were a religious man, I'd say it's some kind of miracle," he said and Vala took a step back, shrugging off a shiver. Even being in the same room as him was almost too much for her.

"Oh, I really shouldn't read anything into this whole thing. Like I said earlier, I'm here with the others to inform you guys about the overrated Ori fandom," Vala said and Alias shook his head.

"Well they might be leaving once this little mission is over but you're not, Vala," he said.

For a moment, Vala didn't know how to react to his statement. Normally she'd laugh at it but she knew Alias well enough to keep a straight face.

"And why not?" she asked, slowly etching towards the door while maintaining eye contact.

"Because there's no way I'm letting you get away again. Not after what happened last time, my dear," Alias said with a smirk.

"Look, I've already told you, I can't accept your offer, Alias. That part still hasn't changed," Vala said with a nervous shrug, desperately trying to come up with that marvelous plan of hers.

"You really think I'm dumb enough to fall for that lie again? What you stole from me fades in comparison to what you left behind," Alias said and Vala came to an abrupt halt as she felt the doorknob against her back.

"I'm flattered, Alias, but truth be told…"

She drifted off, unsure of what to say next. Truth be told Alias was a first class scumbag and nothing would please Vala more than beating the crap out of him, but she couldn't put the others are risk. So Vala decided to do what she normally did in these types of situations. Lie.

"I'm seeing someone. It's quite serious actually, although we don't really talk about it in public," she blurted out and as soon as the words had been uttered, Vala wanted to bang her head against the wall. She thought she was past all that; telling lies and making up excuses just so she wouldn't get caught, but she'd come to realize it wasn't so easy telling the truth either.

"Is that so? I didn't think you were the type of woman, Vala. You mind telling me who it is?"Alias asked with a suspicious stare and Vala's mind raced to think of an answer.

"Dr. Jackson," she said hesitantly, inwardly cursing herself for involving Daniel in her mess.

"Oh really? Didn't think he was your type," Alias said with a shrug and Vala smiled nervously.

"Yes, well, life works in mysterious ways. Now if you excuse me, I need to get back to my friends," she said and reached for the doorknob, about to open the door when Alias appeared next to her.

"How well do these friends of yours know the real Vala Mal Doran? I'm fairly certain you haven't told them the truth. The_ real_ truth. Now, if I were to tell them about our past indiscretions how do you think Dr. Jackson will react?" he whispered.

"Really, darling, there's nothing you can tell them about me that they don't already know. They're my friends and unlike you, I don't have to pay people to watch my back," she said with a smug, steadily holding Alias' stare as she slowly opened the door.

"We'll see about that, _darling_," he said and Vala walked out with her head held high, although she felt like running back and warn the others about whatever Alias had planned. She still wasn't sure what he was up to but no doubt it meant trouble for all of them.

* * *

"That's it! She's been in there way too long! I say we go get her and get the hell outta this place!" Cam said restlessly and got on his feet. Sam and Daniel exchanged worried looks with Teal'c, all trying not to think what Cam was apparently already thinking.

"Okay, here's what we're gonna do, we –"

Cam got cut off as the door suddenly flung open and Vala rushed inside.

"Vala, what's wrong?" Sam asked as Vala quickly shut the door behind her.

"You were right. Alias still is holding a grudge and from what I've gathered, he's up to something. I say we get our things and hurry back to the Stargate," she blurted out and started packing together her things, unaware of her teammates' confused stares.

"I'm all for getting outta here, but what makes you think Alias is gonna let us just leave? There's no way we're sneaking out of this village undetected," Cam said and Vala looked up from her backpack, finally catching her breath.

"I'm not saying it's gonna be easy but you don't know Alias like I do. Granted, I obviously don't know him as well I thought since I only stayed here for a few days but still, you have to trust me when I say we need to leave right now!" she said in one swift breath and had four pair of eyes staring back at her, making her feel uncomfortably self-conscious. Being the center of attention was normally something she almost craved for but this time she had everyone's attention for the wrong reasons.

"I think it's time you told us why Alias has got you so worked up," Daniel said and stepped forward. Vala could tell that the others had the same thought and she realized it was the moment of truth.

"Alright," she sighed and sat down on the nearest chair. "When I first arrived here a few years back, Alias was more than happy to help me out with the bounty hunter problem. It wasn't until afterwards I realized the price you pay for Alias' help."

There was a brief pause and at first Daniel thought she'd finished, but before he had chance to ask, she reluctantly continued on.

"Being a beautiful woman and all, Alias soon took a key interest in me and made it quite clear that he wanted to… well, you get the picture," Vala said with a nonchalant hand gesture and Cam abruptly nodded along.

"A little too well," he mumbled and Daniel shared his disturbed expression.

"So when I rejected his 'offer' of marriage, he became furious. Apparently I'm the only woman to ever have turned him down and he didn't take it very well… _at all_," Vala continued. "Which really didn't leave me with any other choice than to steal one of Alias' precious cargo ships and leave the planet. Somehow Alias and his men got wind of my plan and nearly succeeded in capturing me. I knew that if I ever returned, he'd most likely kill me without hesitation."

"Well, that's… complicated, to say the least," Sam said and glanced at Daniel. "So I assume it's safe to say Alias might try something similar this time?"

Vala nodded briefly and nearly bounced out of the chair, resuming her packing again.

"Pardon me for asking, but why didn't you just tell us this at the beginning?" Daniel asked after a moment of silence and a heavy sigh escaped Vala. She remained with her back turned to the others, momentarily taking a break from packing. Daniel watched as her demeanor changed in a matter of seconds, which really wasn't a good sign at all.

"_Vala_…" Daniel pressed on. "What else aren't you telling us?"

Vala remained silent for a while longer before finally turning around and looking directly at Daniel, nervously biting her lower lip.

"There's one other _tiny_ little thing that you should know…"

* * *

**TO BE CONTINUED. . . .**


	4. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER IV  
**

**  
**

"You've got to be kidding me, Vala!" Daniel cried out in disbelief and above all, shock. Vala rolled her eyes and sighed, bluntly ignoring Cam's glare and turning her focus to Daniel.

"I panicked, alright? He cornered me and in order to avoid being held on this stupid planet against my will, I told a little white lie which really shouldn't matter now that we're leaving!" she said and Daniel stopped pacing the room, letting her words sink in before he exhaled sharply.

"Ever considered consulting us before these white lies of yours slips out? Now Alias has _two_ reasons for wanting us dead! You better hope he listens to me or I'm personally gonna see to it that you're confided to your quarters in the future!" he muttered and Vala watched with a hurtful expression as he marched out the door, slamming it shut behind him. There was an almost suffocating silence filling the room without him there, and Vala kept her eyes fixated on the closed door rather than facing the others at the moment.

"I give him five minutes and then we deal with Alias once and for all. You okay with that, princess?" Cam said, voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Anything to get off this forsaken planet," Vala said and brushed past him, heading over to the nearest secluded room. As the door closed behind her, Sam walked up to Cam with a concerned look on her face.

"You think I was too harsh on her?" Cam sighed.

"A little. But right now I'm more worried about Daniel. There's a very slim chance he'd actually convince Alias to end this whole thing peacefully. I think its best we make preparations for a quick getaway," Sam said and Cam glanced at Teal'c, whom indicated with a simple look that he agreed with what Sam was saying.

"Okay then, I guess I'll have a little chat with Vala and then we'll –"

"Actually I was thinking maybe it's better if I do the talking," Sam interrupted and Cam nodded.

"Gotcha. Well, radio us if you should need us," he said and headed for the front door.

"I will. Good luck," Sam said before turning around on her heels and heading to talk with Vala.

"Dr. Jackson! Just the person I was thinking of! What brings you here?"

Alias greeted Daniel with a smile that would normally be considered friendly by some people, but Daniel knew it held a darker meaning.

"I came to talk to you about Vala," he said and Alias chuckled.

"Why am I not surprised? I assume she told you about our little meeting?"

Daniel reluctantly took a seat across the table from Alias, realizing the situation might've been more complicated than he'd hoped for.

"Something like that. And I assume you wanted to see me because of what Vala told _you_," he said and for a moment Alias grew serious.

"My, aren't we clever! You came here to defend your woman _unarmed_, Doc? If so, you're either incredibly foolish or… no, I think foolish pretty much covers it," he said and rested his elbows on the edge of the table, idly studying Daniel's reaction.

"Believe it or not, Alias, I simply came here to _talk_. One of the reasons we came to this planet was to offer our alliance and despite everything that has taken place since our arrival, we're still willing to give it a try. Whatever happened between you and Vala doesn't concern us but seeing how she's a member of our team, we want to make sure it stays that way. So your intimidation tactics has got to stop," Daniel said calmly and Alias could see the determination in his eyes.

"You're willing to risk the lives of your friends because of a woman? You really are a foolish man, Dr. Jackson," Alias said.

"I don't expect someone like you to understand such a thing as friendship. Vala is important to all of us and when you threaten her, you might as well threaten us all," Daniel said and Alias scoffed.

"I'm not an idiot, Doc. Vala told me about the two of you, which I can't say pleases me but then at least she's someone else's headache. So there's no need lying to me about your precious _friendship_. I of all people know she's close to irresistible," he said and Daniel shivered at the thought of what Alias was implicating.

"Look, there's been a misunderstanding. Vala and I aren't… _involved_. In fact, we're just friends and sometimes hardly even that! I know what Vala told you but it really wasn't her intention to lie. She did it to spare your feelings so please, don't read anything into this," Daniel finally blurted out and Alias stared blankly at him.

"Just friends?" he mumbled and Daniel hesitantly nodded, unsure if Alias' calm exterior was a good thing or a very bad thing.

"So, you're okay with this? No urge to take out your anger on, for example, _me_?" Daniel asked and Alias laughed.

"Don't worry, Doc. Trust me, I understand. You have nothing to worry about and neither does your friends," he said. Daniel stared at him in silence, wondering if he really meant anything if what he said. Either way, Daniel knew he couldn't accomplish much more at the moment.

"Right, well, it was nice chatting with you. Gotta remember to do this again sometime," Daniel said sarcastically and managed a polite smile before exiting the house.

Once the door closed behind him, Alias' eyes darkened. He leaned forward in his chair, staring blankly at the door.

"Baylore," he suddenly said and the younger man stepped out of the shadows. "Make sure Vala Mal Doran receives the full penalty for her evil lies and if any on her friends interferes… kill them."

Baylore nodded and silently left the house, well aware of what needed to be done. Vala Mal Doran had one final choice to make or there would be hell to pay.

* * *

Sam carefully opened the bedroom door, finding Vala sitting on the bed staring down at the floorboards with a tentative expression. Sam hesitated for a moment before walking over and sitting down next to Vala on the bed.

"How you feeling?" she asked, putting a gentle hand on Vala's tense shoulder.

"Oh, I've been better. But it's not like I have anyone else to blame than myself for all of this. It's just my luck to get stuck on a planet where the people want me dead or my friends are risking their lives to save my hide. Honestly, is a normal day too much to ask for?" Vala said and looked up at Sam.

"Doing what we do, nothing's ever normal. And you shouldn't beat yourself up about this. I know Daniel and Cam complain a lot sometimes but they don't really mean it. We're all here for you no matter what," Sam said, smiling softly at Vala whom hesitantly returned the smile.

"Now if only Daniel could be as understanding as you, Sam, things would be a whole lot easier," Vala said, slowly perking up.

"He is. He just has a hard time showing it. You're his friend, Vala, and Daniel never lets his friends down," Sam said and Vala contemplated her statement for a moment in silence. Silence which was suddenly disrupted as the front door was quickly opened and then shut.

"Guys?" Daniel nervously called out. Sam and Vala went out to meet him and neither of them liked the uneasy look on his face.

"I'm gonna take a wild guess here and say things didn't go so well with Alias?" Sam asked. Vala decided to remain silent for the moment, glancing over at Daniel to try and determine if he was still angry with her. When their eyes met for a brief second he seemed more concerned than angry.

"Well considering the fact that I'm still alive and that he didn't point any kind of weapon at me, I'd say our little conversation went pretty well. Except I'm starting to think maybe it was a mistake telling him the truth about me and Vala," he said and Vala quickly snapped out of her daze.

"You told him the truth? The trust, as in, we're not a couple?" she asked him and took a forceful step forward, staring at Daniel in disbelief.

"Just like I said I would, Vala. He wasn't exactly pleased to hear you'd lied to him but I had to give him credit for being so being so calm and understanding," Daniel and Vala started laughing nervously.

"We're doomed. Or more specifically, _I'm_ doomed. You honestly expect Alias to just let me leave now that I've lied to him… _again_! You might've as well signed my death warrant!" Vala cried out and punched Daniel on the shoulder out of sheer frustration before she started pacing the room.

"Excuse me? I had to get us out of the complete mess you got us into in the first place, and _you're_ angry at _me_?!" Daniel growled and walked over to Vala. She stopped pacing and glared at him, about to open her mouth and respond when Sam quickly stepped in between the two.

"Guys, this really isn't the time or the place. Besides, the only person to blame for any of this is Alias. So how about we gather up our gear and meet up with Cam and Teal'c at the Stargate?" she said in a diplomatic tone of voice. Daniel and Vala glared intensely at each other, at first making Sam doubt they'd even heard her.

"Fine. The sooner we get off this planet, the better," Daniel muttered and broke off eye contact as he went to get his things. Vala simply turned around and picked up her backpack and P90.

"Let's go," she said and Sam sighed, hating the tension that was clearly building up between the two. Daniel gathered his things without another word while Vala went to open the front door.

"Get a move on, darling! We don't wanna be here when Alias –"

Vala stopped mid-sentence when she found herself staring into the eyes of Baylore. Behind him was a steady group of armed men, all seemingly eager to have an excuse to use their weapons. Vala let her face falter for a moment before putting on a wide grin.

"Boys! Come to see me off, have you?" she said cheerfully but none of them acknowledged her attempt at humor. Sam and Daniel appeared at Vala's side in the doorway, noting the number of weapons aimed at them.

"What seems to be the problem here?" Sam asked and Baylore briefly glanced at her before turning his attention back to Vala.

"I have order to bring you, Vala Mal Doran, to the town square in front of Alias and the rest of our people," he said and reached out to grab hold of Vala's arm, but she quickly took a step back.

"I don't think so. Just tell Alias you couldn't find me, okay?" she said and Baylore's eyes darkened.

"We can do this the easy way… or the hard way. Unlike Alias, I'm not a particularly patient man so I suggest for your own sake that you don't try and resist," he said and Daniel suddenly stepped in front of Vala, glaring at Baylore.

"Look, today has been a very long and very tiring day so I'm _really_ not in the mood for this. We're on our way out of here and you can't stop us."

* * *

Vala glanced around the small town square, now filled with people. She tried to block out their constant chatter but the disapproving looks they were giving her were harder to ignore. Vala quickly turned her back to them, tired of always being treated this way by people. She'd been through much worse in the past, especially after the Tok'ra had freed her from Quetesh. Looks and gossip was nothing compared to the beating she had taken.

Vala abruptly ended her unpleasant trip down memory lane and turned to Daniel, who looked as uncomfortable as she was feeling.

"You just had to tell him the truth! Contrary to what you believe the truth doesn't always help matters! And really, you made a huge mistake assuming Baylore would let us leave without a fight!" she muttered and Daniel glared at her.

"Oh, and as if Alias would've believed your little white lie about us being lovers! Contrary to what _you_ believe, Vala, the truth does actually more good than lies!" he snapped back at her and Vala instantly rolled her eyes.

"Really, Daniel, if you weren't so hell bent on always telling the truth we wouldn't be standing here right now. Despite the trouble my lies put us in, we never had to fear death until you had your meeting with Alias," she said and Sam glanced at Daniel, giving him the impression she agreed with Vala.

"Oh come _on_! You can't seriously be blaming me for all of this!" Daniel cried out and Vala remained silent, breaking off eye contact and looking the other way. As Daniel opened his mouth to loudly argue his point, Alias made his way over to the three SG-1 members.

"So, my dear Vala, I assume you're aware of your options?" he asked sternly and Vala smiled deviously at him. Daniel shuddered at the thought of what was coming.

"Alias, you have to be the most disgusting, obnoxious, hateful, selfish man I've ever met and I wouldn't marry you even if you were the last man left in the entire galaxy!" Vala said in one single breath and Daniel to admit he completely agreed with her. None of them was however prepared on how Alias would react and so when his hand flew across Vala's face, she nearly lost her footing.

"Well, can't say I saw that coming," she said sarcastically as she regained her stance and felt for the blood trace on her already swollen lip. Alias gave her a deadly stare Daniel feared for a moment that he'd slap her again.

"You still haven't learned when to shut up. I've been incredibly patient and generous with you, Vala, but that ends here. You have forsaken your last chance and for that you have to pay… starting with your freedom," Alias said and looked at Baylore, who along with the other men pointed their weapons at Vala.

"Pardon me?"she asked with a dubious look at Alias, ignoring the guns aimed at her face.

"My dear, you honestly didn't expect to actually get off the planet? Never mind that once again you were foolish enough to lie to me, but the fact remains that I still have plans for you. Same goes for Dr. Jackson," Alias said smugly. Daniel and Vala exchanged a glance, both unsure of what to make of his mysterious statement. Vala wasn't surprised to hear she was part of said plan but she wondered what Alias wanted with Daniel all of the sudden.

"But… _why_? Daniel has done nothing to upset you," she said, turning to look at Daniel. "Have you?"

"I might've done some threatening," Daniel shrugged and Vala turned back to Alias with a smirk.

"You've both been a royal pain in the ass and I gotta say, I couldn't be more thrilled this is all over," Alias said smugly. Vala glanced at Baylore and the other men, their weapons still firmly aimed at her. To get out of this mess she knew her escape plan had to be carefully calculated and flawlessly carried out.

"Take them to the cellar. I'll deal with them after my meeting," Alias said, turning around and waving a dismissive hand at Baylore as he walked away with two of his men. Vala watched as he disappeared behind one of the houses before she leaned in closer to Daniel and lowered her voice.

"Just bare with me."

She didn't have time to note Daniel's raised eyebrow before she leaped forward and sucker punched Baylore right in the face. As he crumpled to the ground, Vala grabbed his gun and took out the three men coming at her. Within seconds they were lying in a pile on the ground at her feet. The villagers gasped loudly at the scene that played out in front of them and as Vala turned around, gun still in hand, they all started running away in different directions. Daniel and Sam quickly grabbed their gear from off the ground, rushing over to Vala's side.

"What the hell just happened?! It'd be nice if you for once thought about including us in your little plans!" Daniel cried out in frustration and Vala picked up her gear, shrugging nonchalantly.

"There was no time to fill you in and besides, you're always complaining about my plans. Now let's get going before Alias notices the commotion," she said and suddenly they noticed several men coming running towards them. Vala fired her gun at them while she, Daniel and Sam started running out of the village and making their way to the woods.

"Got another one of your brilliant plans? 'Cause we could sure use one right about now!" Daniel shouted while he fired off a few rounds over his shoulder. Vala looked over at the patches of giant bushes at the edge of the forest, deciding that that was their only chance at cover before they were riddled with bullet holes.

"Follow me!" Vala shouted to Sam and Daniel as she set course towards the bushes. Sam and Daniel were right behind her, all three team members returning fire every so often at Alias' men. Luckily they were still several feet behind Sam, Daniel and Vala and for some reason they seemed to slow down when they got closer to the woods.

Vala plumped down on the ground behind the bushes alongside Sam and Daniel, busy catching her breath instead of noticing that Alias' men had ceased fire. Daniel peeked out through the thick bushes, surprised to see that most of Alias' men were heading back to the village.

"Well the good news is they seemed to have given up for the moment," Daniel said and Sam furrowed her brow.

"And the bad news?"

Daniel sat back down next to her with a concerned look on his face.

"The bad news is they've given up. It makes me wonder if maybe we're on even more dangerous ground."

Vala exhaled loudly, tossed the stolen gun aside and got up on her feet.

"What a rush! And here I started to think this mission would be boring!" she exclaimed with a smug face. Daniel and Sam slowly got back up on their feet, both looking equally worried. Vala's smugness dissipated when she noticed her friends' somber looks.

"What? Come on, we just won and now we're on our way back to the Stargate so turn those frowns upside down!" she said, giving both a quick pat on the shoulder before turning around on her heels and heading down the nearest path with a bounce in her steps.

"Something tells me didn't win anything," Sam muttered to Daniel as they followed Vala's lead.

"Something tells me you're right," he muttered back.

* * *

**TO BE CONTINUED. . . . **


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **As always, I wanna thank you all for your lovely reviews! My favorite part has to be seeing some of you actually quoting parts of a chapter! ;) I do feel somewhat obligated to throw in a quick explanation as to why both Cam and Daniel are being kind of mean to Vala. I guess I've always experienced Cam as kind of "snappy" towards Vala from the start what with the nicknames and the constant sarcasm, which is why I enjoy their scenes so much. Daniel's behavior towards Vala isn't really different in my story compared to the show, although I might've made him a little bit more annoyed at her but the reason behind that is quite simple. I completely adore the bickering between the two and the sarcasm is what I practically live for when it comes to the show. Anyways, I've realized that Cam is extra grumpy in this fan fiction and Daniel... well, he's who he is. Vala does sort of bring out the worse in him sometimes but we all know that's because in he's in denial. So, have a little patient with Daniel and Cam - they do care for Vala more than she knows.

* * *

**CHAPTER V**

They had been walking in silence for quite a while when suddenly Sam's radio started crackling and Cam's voice came through on the other end.

"_Carter? Jackson? What's your location?_"

Daniel and Sam slowed down to a stop, exchanging looks before Sam took out her radio.

"Sorry if we worried you, Cam, but Alias decided to hold his own little town meeting with us at gunpoint. Long story short, we managed to escape unharmed thanks to Vala and we're on our way over to you right now. How goes things on your end?"

Vala turned around facing Daniel and Sam while all three were awaiting a response. There was a momentarily pause, and Vala knew Cam was no doubt contemplating just how they'd managed to escape.

"_Glad to hear you're alright. Things are quiet on our end, which is starting to give me the creeps. We're ready to leave as soon as you get here._"

"Got it. We'll get a move on it. See you in a few. Carter out."

Sam tucked away her radio, meeting Daniel's concerned glance. They didn't like being separated from the rest of their team on a planet where danger most likely lured at every corner.

"So, I take it you know where we're going?" Daniel said, turning to Vala. She looked baffled for a moment and started glancing around their surroundings before meeting Daniel's stare.

"Look, truth be told, I didn't exactly pay attention last time. I was busy trying to stay one step ahead of the bounty hunter when Alias and his men showed up. They showed the way to the village while I was… lost in thought," she abruptly explained and Daniel rolled his eyes.

"Of course you were. Well then, I guess we'll have to rely on instinct to us to the Stargate," he said and Sam nodded along.

"Oh, that won't be a problem! I have excellent instincts!" Vala chimed in with a disturbingly cheerful smile and eagerly picked up the pace.

"Oh the joy," Daniel muttered and Vala glanced at him over her shoulder.

"You say something?"

"Nothing."

Vala turned her focus back on the path ahead of them. She desperately tried to remember which direction would lead them back to the Stargate, oblivious to the shadow following them.

* * *

"What took you guys so long?" Cam called out when he saw Sam, Daniel and Vala coming out of the woods and making their way over to the Stargate.

"Why don't you ask the expert," Daniel sighed and Vala nervously bit her lower lip, looking at Cam with a hesitant smile.

"At least we made it here before Alias' men," she said with a shrug. Cam gave Daniel a sympathetic pat on the shoulder before turning around and giving Teal'c a quick nod.

"Nevertheless, we're out of here before Alias even knows you've humiliated him… _again_," Cam said and glared at Vala. She grinned back at him, looking ever so innocent.

"Colonel Mitchell," Teal'c said and turned around. "There seems to be a problem with the DHD."

"What kind of problem?"

Daniel and Sam glanced at each other, both just realized things got a whole lot more complicated. Vala's eyes darted between the two a few times before she finally settled her focus on Teal'c. Normally she couldn't read his expressions since they all looked pretty much the same, but this time he was clearly looking troubled.

"It's not working," Teal'c said and Cam leaped over to the DHD, starting to dial Earth's address but soon realizing it was useless.

"Okay, this is bad. _Really_ bad! How the hell are we suppose to get back home now!" he exclaimed. Sam walked over to the DHD, kneeled down behind it and opened the crystal compartment.

"Uhm, guys, I know what the problem is," she said while getting up. "We're missing a power crystal."

"_What_?"

Cam walked over to Sam whom pointed out the empty space where the missing power crystal was supposed to be.

"That's just great! We're stuck here in this wasteland until the General dials in after we miss our scheduled check up and God knows what could happen in the meantime! How could this happen… _twice_!" Cam cried out and Vala nervously glanced around the woods, noticing for the first time how creepy it was.

"The days are considerably shorter here. It'll probably get dark in an hour or so," she said while edging closer to Daniel and Teal'c.

"This just keeps on getting better," Cam muttered. "Okay, here's the deal; we try and find a place to set up camp until General Landry dials in."

"I noticed caves not far from here, Colonel Mitchell. Perhaps they're sufficient enough for the time being," Teal'c spoke up and Cam nodded.

"Sounds like a plan. Let's go check it out," he said and Sam closed the crystal compartment before the team moved away from the Stargate.

Daniel listened to the distant echo of bird song and something similar to a wolf howling, trying to ignore the ominous feeling he had. He glanced over at Vala who walked beside him. She seemed to have finally realized the same thing as him and that really didn't bode well.

* * *

The cave offered plenty of room for all five team members, but Vala didn't like the whole cave vibe much. After a while she decided she needed to stretch her legs and get out of the cave.

"Where do you think you're going?" Cam said as Vala made her way over to the cave's entrance. She slowly turned around facing her friends, their faces lit up by the fire they were gathered around.

"Oh, I was just gonna go for a little walk. Caves aren't really my thing," Vala said and stuffed her hands down her pockets.

"And creepy forests are? Vala, you have no idea what could be lurking around out there!" Cam said and Vala sighed while rolling her eyes at him.

"Honestly, Cameron, I've been to worse places before. Now, I appreciate your concern but it's not necessary. I'll be back in a few minutes… give or take," she said and winked at Cam before heading out of the cave. Daniel watched as she disappeared into the darkness outside, hesitating for a moment before getting up and following her lead.

"Jackson…!" Cam called out as Daniel walked past them without a word. "Does _anybody_ ever listen these days?"

Cam turned to Teal'c and Sam, both offering looks that required no explanation.

"Forget I asked…" Cam muttered and poked around in the fire.

* * *

"Vala, wait up!"

Vala turned around at the sound of Daniel's voice, not able to hold back the look of surprise when she saw him coming running towards her.

"Daniel?" she said, staring at him as if she wasn't sure if it was really him.

"I figured you'd want some company," she said and Vala narrowed her eyes.

"You know, it's not like I need a babysitter. I'm perfectly capable of defending myself in case you haven't noticed," she said and Daniel quickly shook his head before she could continue.

"Believe it or not, I just thought you wanted some company. In case _you _haven't noticed, these woods aren't exactly the friendliest kind," he said and Vala's expression slowly softened.

"Oh. Well in that case, some company is just what I need," she said and in the next moment a wide grin spread across her face.

"What?" Daniel groaned, already regretting offering her company. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if the wolves had her for dinner after all.

"I was just thinking what the others might make of this little moonlight walk," Vala said and shrugged nonchalantly.

"I'm sure they got better things to talk about. Now, you got some kind of route planned out or are you just walking in the opposite directing of the cave? In which case, there's a fifty-fifty chance we'll end up lost," Daniel and Vala gave him a smug smile. She took out her flashlight, shining it down on the path they were standing on.

"Daniel, darling, you really think I'd be stupid enough to wonder about an unknown forest without direction? I learned my lesson the first time," she said and continued down the path, well aware of Daniel's annoyed expression. He was so predictable at times that Vala knew exactly what to do or say in order to get him all worked up. For the most part it was a pleasing feeling, seeing him twist and turn over something she'd said or done. In the end, Vala knew she could depend on him to overcome his annoyance with her and still consider her a friend after all they'd been through together.

Vala's thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a loud growling sound. Daniel instantly grabbed a hold of Vala's jacket from behind, pulling her to a stop.

"What was that?" he said while scanning the immediate area for anything suspicious.

"Better not be another one of those freaky mutant creatures," Vala muttered and tightened the grip she had on her flashlight.

"No, I don't think so," Daniel said hesitantly. He was still holding onto Vala's jacket, showing no indication of letting go anytime soon. Vala didn't really mind; she was more focused on figuring out the creature's location. The growling grew more intense by the minute and Vala immediately reached for her gun, momentarily surprised not to found it in the holster. She grunted at the fact that Cam's nagging had distracted her from bringing along the gun.

"Well then, guess it's time to head back to the cave," she sighed, still with her back to Daniel.

"Unless you prefer to make a new friend, I'd say that's our only option," he said and they started backing up, Daniel gently tugging Vala's jacket.

But they didn't get very far before a shadow came flying towards them, teeth gleaming in the silver moonlight. Vala winced and quickly hurled her flashlight at the creature. It let out a shrilling sound as the flashlight made contact before finally hitting the ground. In the same moment Vala suddenly lost her footing and seconds later she landed on something soft. She found herself staring up at the starry night sky, oblivious to the grunting emerging from underneath her.

"Vala, you okay?"

Vala turned her face sideways, surprised to realize she was lying on top of Daniel.

"Yes," she said, barely able to stifle a giggle.

"Good. Then how about getting off of me!" Daniel snapped and Vala sighed, slowly getting back up on her feet with a pout. She brushed off her clothes before holding out a helping hand to Daniel. Their eyes met as he got up, stilling holding onto Vala's hand. Both remained silent for a moment until they remembered the mysterious creature. Daniel abruptly let go of Vala's hand and went over to get the flashlight.

"Looks like you scared it off," he said while examining the flashlight. "And it looks like you injured it as well."

Vala walked over to Daniel and looked down at the blood drops on the flashlight with a curious expression, soon turning into a smug grin.

"See! Told you I could take care of myself!" she said and started rubbing her hands together, her mind already drifting off.

"Let's go, Xena, before your new friend decides he wants a rematch," Daniel said and turned Vala around, giving her a firm nudge in the right direction.

"You mock me now but you just wait and see! You'll be needing my help soon enough!" Vala exclaimed, pointing a finger at Daniel over her shoulder while striding up the path back to the cave.

"Good to know."

****

TO BE CONTINUED. . . .


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **Okay so here we have one of the shorter chapters again, but that's mostly because of how the ending turned out this time. These chapters are after all carefully planned out so I don't wanna change anything but I think you might find this chapter entertaining as well. Happy reading folks!

* * *

**CHAPTER VI**

"Back so soon?" Sam said, stifling a yawn, as Daniel and Vala walked into the cave. Cam and Teal'c broke off their staring contest, noticing Daniel's grave expression.

"What happened?" Cam sighed, looking over at Vala. She held up both hands in a dismissive manner, slowly shaking her head.

"I didn't do anything! Well aside from saving Daniel, I didn't do anything," she said and shrugged. Sam was suddenly wide awake and Cam turned to stare at Daniel.

"I didn't know you needed saving, Jackson," he said, a teasing grin playing on his lips. Vala took the opportunity to do some gloating despite of Daniel's deadly stare.

"Neither did I. But thanks to Vala, we managed to get away," she said and Vala proudly help up her flashlight, causing the others to stare blankly at her and Daniel.

"Get away from _what_?" Sam asked, not sure she'd like the answer.

"Oh, just some deadly creature that most likely only hurts during nighttime, which explains why Alias' men didn't follow us into the woods. They're probably counting on this… _thing_ to finish the job for them," Daniel explained. Vala walked over and plumped down on the ground between Sam and Teal'c, warming her hands by the crackling fire.

"Whoa! There's a Bigfoot lurking around in the woods?" Cam said, instantly getting up on his feet. Teal'c did the same in an orderly fashion, looking somewhat concerned although it was hard to tell.

"Pretty much. So I'm thinking we need a plan of some sort in case it comes knocking," Daniel said, bending down and picking up his gear.

"Like what?" Vala asked, busy munching on an energy bar at the moment. Daniel turned away from Cam and Teal'c, staring down at Vala who shrugged in return.

"Like maybe someone standing guard until our people arrive. Unless you have a better idea," he said and Vala took her time finishing the energy bar before replying.

"How about getting back the missing power crystal?"

All eyes were on her the moment she'd uttered the words; the looks on their faces telling her a further explanation was needed.

"Honestly, neither of you ever considered the fact someone _deliberately_ took out the power crystal in order to deactivate the Stargate? Someone like, oh I don't know, Alias maybe?"

Daniel and Cam exchanged looks before turning back to Vala, whom grinned up at the two.

"Good point. So, who's up for a trip to the village?" Cam said sarcastically.

"Perhaps it's better if we all go, Colonel Mitchell," Teal'c suggested and Sam nodded along.

"I agree. Alias we can handle but this creature might be a bigger problem," she said. Vala tossed aside the candy wrapper before bouncing off the ground, grabbing her gear and turning to face the rest of the team.

"Shall we?" she asked and hastily kicked over some sand onto the fire. As the flames slowly died down the team began heading out of the cave, their weapons trained on anything moving in the shadows.

* * *

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all?" Daniel whispered to Vala as they were making their way through the village.

"If you rather wanna go back and face the creature, then be my guest. Like I said, there's nobody here this time of night. They always head to the next village over to _socialize_," Vala whispered and instantly came to a stop when they'd reached Alias' house. She half turned and gave Daniel a quick nod, indicating that they had a green light. While Vala started working on getting the door unlocked, Daniel radioed the others.

"Cam, it's Daniel. We're at the house now, about to enter. If Vala is right, we should be done in a few minutes," he said into the radio, not entirely convinced himself.

"_Gotcha. Everything's all nice and deserted over here so it looks like princess might be right after all_."

Vala looked back at Daniel, who shrugged in response.

"He's never gonna let me live this one down, is he?" she sighed and continued working on the lock.

"I'm sure he'll forget all about it until next time," Daniel mumbled, barely audible.

"Got it!" Vala suddenly exclaimed and pushed the door open with a triumphant smile. She turned and winked at Daniel before waltzing into the house, letting her flashlight lead the way through the pitch black darkness.

"This place is even creepier at night!" Daniel stated and Vala nodded, shedding light over some bookshelves positioned behind Alias' desk. She stopped for a moment, studying the shelves in silence before finally walking over to one of them.

"Alias never was the type to read," she while lingering her fingers on some of the dusty books. "I imagine most of these are just for show. One of them could also very well be a hiding place for things he'd like to keep secret. Like power crystals for example."

Daniel gave her a sideway glance as she started pulling out books from the shelf, throwing them down on the floor with an echoing thud. Once the first shelf was emptied, Vala let out a disappointed sigh and pouted.

"You know, chances are the power crystal isn't even in the house. Alias doesn't strike me as the type to leave something that valuable behind unsupervised. And even if, by some weird coincidence, it is hidden somewhere in here we're not gonna have enough time to dig it out," Daniel said and Vala looked at him in silence, her facial expression going from pensive to mischievous. Daniel sighed heavily and rolled his eyes.

"_But_ you're planning on clearing out all the books anyway, aren't you?"

"Well one can never be too thorough when searching for missing power crystals."

"Right, because that's what this job is all about. You better be sure where Alias has hidden it or we're out of here!"

Vala turned her attention back to the second bookshelf, scanning through the books briefly and going over in her mind what Alias had told her last time regarding his hiding places. She glanced at the third bookshelf and spotted just the thing she was looking for.

"Found it!" she exclaimed happily and stepped over to the third bookshelf. Daniel followed her with a confused look on his face.

"Found what?"

Vala reached up to the top of the shelf, pulling down the thickest book Daniel ever expected to find in Alias' house of all places. Vala started shaking it, an excited grin spreading across her face.

"Alias once told me, in a rather vain attempt to impress me, that he'd keep all his best secrets hidden away in the one place no one would think to look," she said and ignored Daniel's skeptical stare as she started flipping through the pages. At the back of the book, Vala found an empty space cut out, just about the right size to fit something like a power crystal. Daniel and Vala both stared down at the empty hiding place in momentarily silence.

"Huh…"

Vala hesitantly closed the book, looking up at Daniel who looked equally surprised.

"So, either Alias came up with a better hiding place or –"

"Or he's up to something. Which I find much easier to believe."

Daniel took out his radio while Vala put away the book. She couldn't quite shake the uneasy feeling that had suddenly come over her and as she did a quick scan of the room with the flashlight, her suspicions were confirmed. Staring back at her from the shadows with a gun in hand was Baylore, swollen nose and all. Vala glanced at Daniel who slowly lifted his finger off the com button.

"And here I thought this was gonna be easy," Vala mumbled, still holding the flashlight focused on Baylore. He showed no indication of responding to her comment and instead he tightened the grip on his gun.

"You here by yourself or is your so-called leader planning on making an appearance?" Daniel asked and Baylore moved silently across the floorboards over to them, glancing down at the radio in Daniel's hand.

"Try to contact your friends and you die right here and now, despite of Alias' orders," he said and Daniel put away the radio.

"Fair enough. So, do you happen to know where the power crystal is?" he asked, trying to avoid staring at the gun just inches away from his chest. Vala didn't like the current situation but she couldn't risk another of her impulsive moves this time.

"Alias knew you'd be foolish enough to come looking for it, which is why he ordered me to stay behind and wait for you. It was never our intention of letting you leave, Dr. Jackson, so we disabled the ancestral ring just in case Vala Mal Doran tried anything," Baylore said and glared at Vala.

"Impressive. So may I ask what your intentions are?" Daniel asked.

"It's not my place to reveal the leader's great plan. Let's just say he needs the both of you alive, especially Vala Mal Doran."

Vala couldn't hide the look of confusion over the last part of Baylore's statement, and she noticed Daniel's reaction to be the same.

"Well then… may I suggest you stop pointing that gun at me," Daniel said and Baylore reluctantly lowered his weapon for the time being.

"Make no mistake, Dr. Jackson. Neither of you are worth getting killed over and if you try escaping I will not hesitate to shoot," he said and the look in his eyes was enough to convince Vala that he meant every word.

**

* * *

**

TO BE CONTINUED...


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: **Sorry that it's taken me a while for this update but I've experienced some annoying computer problems since the last chapter update. I had to do _two_ instant recoveries on my computer within the same week since it kept malfunctioning pretty much all the time. And so I had to re-install all the important programs onto the computer again; including my beloved Microsoft Word. My internship has also taken up a lot of time lately but I'm finally back again and hoping to continue my weekly updates on time. This chapter is ironically also another short one, which is starting to bug me since I expected these last few chapters to be longer. Anyways, hope you all find them entertaining and don't hesitate to let me know if I've gotten any of the Stargate info wrong since I haven't watched many episodes of the show before _Prometheus Unbound_. Happy reading folks!

* * *

**CHAPTER VII**

"I still say something's up."

"Give them a little more time. I'm sure it's not easy locating the crystal."

"According to Vala, it'd only take minutes. I'd say we've given them _overtime _by now!"

Sam met Cam's stare and gave up trying to convince him of otherwise.

"Fine. We'll go and check on them," she said.

"Good. Teal'c, I need you to stay here and keep an eye out in case any of the villagers decide to get back early from the neighborhood barbeque," Cam said and Teal'c bowed his head in silence.

Sam and Cam headed into the village, guns ready in case they were surprised by someone who wasn't Daniel or Vala. The village appeared to be completely empty and as they got closer to Alias' house, not even Cam noticed the man watching them from afar. He studied their movements as they walked up to the house, a pleasant look on his face.

* * *

Daniel and Vala stood with their backs to the windows and the door, remaining frozen on the same spot. Baylore still had his gun on stand-by, watching them like a hawk.

"I don't know about you, but my feet are starting to hurt," Vala suddenly blurted out and sighed. "We gonna stand here much longer or do you plan on taking us somewhere else?"

Daniel looked over at Baylore, thinking the same thing himself.

"My orders are to keep you here until Alias return. As far as the standing goes, I never said you couldn't sit. Since I'm the one with your weapons you're no longer any threat," Baylore said with a confident smirk. Daniel and Vala shared an annoyed look while moving over to the nearest chairs. As they walked past the door, Daniel caught a glimpse of something in the corner of his eyes. He glanced out the window while slowing down his pace and suddenly spotted Cam signaling him to remain silent.

Vala sat down on the chair with a relieved sigh, stretching out her sore feet in front of her. Daniel kept his eyes fixed on Baylore as he took a seat next to Vala.

"You really expect to get away with this? Even if you manage to defeat our friends, which I doubt you will, others will come through the ancestral ring once we don't return as planned," Daniel said and Baylore walked over to them with a look of smugness on his face.

"If more of your people come, they'll find nothing here. These villagers are innocent farmers who know nothing about any offworld visitors and thanks to Alias no one can prove otherwise," Baylore said Daniel once again got an ominous feeling at the sight of Baylore's certainty.

"But what makes us so special? I'd assume Alias would gladly kill us or at least let us leave and not keep us alive," Vala said and Baylore leaned in closer to her with a sinister smile.

"Who said anything about keeping you alive? Alias made it clear that using violence while apprehending you wouldn't be an issue so don't try my patience," he whispered and Vala glared up at him, feeling the anger building up inside of her.

"Thanks for the warning," she muttered and was just about to give Baylore a black eye to go with his swollen nose when the door was kicked open. Cam and Sam quickly entered the house with their weapons aimed at Baylore, who immediately responded in the same manner.

"Put the gun down," Cam ordered while slowly edging closer towards Baylore.

"I don't think so. I have my orders and I'm planning on follow through with them," Baylore said sternly with his gun aimed directly at Cam. Vala and Daniel remained seated for the moment, unsure of how the standoff would end.

"Same here. Only difference is it's four of us and one of you, so I'd say you're screwed either way," Cam said and signaled Vala and Daniel to get up.

"Without the power crystal you're stuck here and as you've probably noticed the woods isn't a safe place at night, so how are you planning on returning home in one piece?" Baylore said, glaring at Vala and Daniel as they walked past him over to Sam and Cam.

"You okay?" Sam whispered to Daniel.

"I would be even better if we had that power crystal," he whispered back.

"Oh, I'm sure we can come to some sort of agreement," Cam said sarcastically and Baylore narrowed his eyes.

"You honestly expect me to have the power crystal on me? And even if I had, I certainly wouldn't hand it over because the truth is, I just don't like you people."

"Well we're not too crazy about you either. Which is why I won't have a problem shooting you, but we actually try avoiding shooting people," Cam and edged even closer to Baylore.

"Like I said before, I'm not gonna –"

"Give us the power crystal willingly, yeah I got it. But since I'm in decent enough mood at the moment I'm gonna count to ten and then I _do_ expect you to hand over the damn crystal!"

Cam and Baylore glared at each other in silence, none of them standing down.

"One."

Baylore remained unsettled as Cam started counting down, both men ready to push the trigger at any moment if necessary.

"Two."

Cam definitely didn't like the situation he was getting himself into but they were out of options at this point.

"Three."

Vala looked from Sam to Cam to Baylore and felt the tension building up in the room.

"Four."

Sam had her P-90 aimed at Baylore, not daring to utter a word at the time being.

"Five."

Cam sighed inwardly, about to call it quits when Baylore suddenly was struck by a zat beam and fell to the floor with a loud thud. Cam quickly turned around and saw Vala standing there holding a zat, looking somewhat relief.

"What the… where did you get that?!" Cam sputtered and Vala shrugged.

"I just felt like bringing it along. To be honest, I'd forgotten all about it until now," she said and noticed that Daniel and Sam were as surprised as Cam. "What? There was no way of telling what could've happened once Mitchell's little countdown finished. I personally only count to three at the most; it gets far too boring otherwise."

"Good thinking," Cam said with a quick nod and stepped over to Baylore's motionless body.

"Yeah except maybe a heads up isn't too much to ask for?" Daniel said as he walked over to Cam.

"I'll try, but these things usually work best when I'm impromptu," Vala said nonchalantly and tucked away her zat, unable to hold back a smirk.

"What makes you think he actually has the power crystal?" Daniel asked, looking down at Cam who was busy searching Baylore's pockets for the missing crystal. "Alias strikes me as smarter than that."

"Well in that case…" Cam began, drifting off momentarily as he took out the crystal from one of Baylore's pockets. "I guess he must be losing his touch."

Daniel stared at the power crystal in Cam's hand, unsure of what to say at first.

"Okay, that was _way_ too easy," he stated and Cam shrugged.

"At this point I really don't care. I just hope this little sucker can guarantee us a trip back to Earth," he said and walked over to Sam, who took out her radio to contact Teal'c.

"Teal'c, it's Sam. We got the power crystal and we're heading your way. Everything clear?" Sam said into the radio and releasing the com button, letting through momentarily static.

"_None of the villagers have yet to return, Colonel Carter_."

"Alright, good to know. Carter out."

Vala shrugged on her backpack again, reaching down for her P-90 as Daniel picked up his gear off the floor as well.

"You know, this is getting tiresome," Vala sighed and Daniel turned to face her.

"Funny, I was thinking the same thing… only I had another reason in mind," he said sarcastically and Vala narrowed her eyes.

"Careful, darling, or I might just accidently zat you if you don't behave," she said and Cam loudly cleared his throat, stepping in between the two.

"Hey, _lovebirds_, how about getting outta here before Sleeping Beauty wakes up and starts causing trouble again," he muttered and pocketed the power crystal. Daniel and Vala both turned to stare at him, about to object when Cam quickly waved them off. "Come on, let's go!"

Vala glanced over at Daniel before turning on her heels and falling into line behind Sam and Cam. Daniel quickly stepped over Baylore's unconscious body, keeping his distance from Vala. And yet, as the team were making their way through the village over to Teal'c, Daniel's eyes never wandered far from Vala.

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: **And so here we have the second last chapter of the story. Sadly since I haven't been doing a better job of feeding my **Stargate SG-1** obsession lately, my other fan fiction ideas are currently on hold until my Vala muse returns. Until then, I hope you'll enjoy these last chapters and I'll keep an eye out for new awesome D/V fan fictions whenever I find the time.

* * *

****

CHAPTER VIII

"This better work, Sam," Cam muttered, glancing at Sam over his shoulder.

"If not, we only have to wait another two hours or so before General Landry dials in," Vala chirped. Cam, Daniel and Teal'c all stared at her in silence. She grinned innocently at them and shrugged. "But I'm sure it doesn't have to come to that!"

Sam got up from behind the DHD with a heavy sigh, turning to face the others. Cam and Teal'c kept an eye out for the mysterious creature while Vala and Daniel went to stand in front of the DHD, waiting for Sam to give them the go ahead.

"Everything should be working fine now," she said and walked around to Daniel and Vala.

"Okay then, second time's the charmed," Daniel said and hesitantly started dialing Earth's address. It wasn't until the seventh chevron locked on that Daniel dared to relax. As he stared upon the event horizon with the others there was a moment of relieved silence.

"Finally! Way to go, Sam!" Vala exclaimed, grinning at Sam who smiled back in relief.

"Yeah nice work, Sam. Dunno what I would've done if what hadn't done the trick," Cam said as he walked over to the active Stargate. He quickly held out a dismissive hand at Vala when she opened her mouth to speak. "Save it, princess. Jackson, send over your IDC and then we're out of here!"

Vala crossed her arms and turned away from Cam, facing Daniel as he punched in the IDC.

"Done."

The team looked up at the active Stargate for a while before Cam finally stepped through the wormhole, the others following closely behind. Vala glanced back at the dark woods one last time as she passed through the Stargate. In a blink of an eye she was transported back to Stargate Command on Earth, leaving the past behind once and for all.

* * *

General Landry glanced over in Vala's direction every now and again during the team's debriefing. Cam managed to sugarcoat the most part with help from Sam, as expected, but it was Daniel's inputs that had Vala's attention when she wasn't avoiding General Landry's glances.

"So should I be worried that this Alias may come knocking on our Stargate anytime soon?"

Vala snapped out of her daze and looked over at the General, who in return stared back at her along with the others. She grinned nervously at General Landry, rocking back and forth in her chair.

"I highly doubt we'll be hearing from Alias for at least a couple of years," Vala said and General Landry raised an eyebrow.

"I'll hold you to that," he said and Vala's grin quickly faded away. She nervously nodded at him, glancing at the others.

"Yes, Sir."

Cam turned away from her, hiding a smirk. He could tell that the General was only messing with Vala, which the others also knew, but none of them planned on mentioning that to Vala.

"Very well. That said, I'm relieved to hear you're all alright. And just in time for the party tonight. Seeing as how you just got back from a rather tiring mission, I'm sure you'd wanna get some rest before the big event," General Landry said, his face loosening up at the mentioning of the party. Vala looked hesitant for a moment before a huge grin spread across her face.

"Oh right, the party. We'd completely forgotten about that, Sir," Sam said awkwardly.

"No worries, Colonel Carter. There's still plenty of time to get ready. And before you ask, Dr. Jackson, _all_ members of SG-1 are requested to be present," General Landry said and Daniel hung his head. Sam gave him a sympathetic look and at the same time she could barely hold back an amused smile at the sight of Vala's excitement.

"Wouldn't want it any other way, Sir," Cam said, doing his best to ignore Vala who was practically bouncing in her chair.

"Good to hear, Colonel Mitchell. Now if you excuse me, I have some phone calls to make before tonight. As I'm sure you all have things to take care of," General Landry said and stood up, the others following his lead. "Dismissed, SG-1."

As he exited the debrief room, the team slowly sat back down again with somewhat grave expressions on their faces. All except for Vala who couldn't refrain from grinning foolishly.

"I don't know about you but resting is the last thing on my mind! All this Alias drama had me completely forgetting about the party until the General so kindly reminded me. I told you we'd make it back in time for the party!" she exclaimed and bounced out of her chair.

"Glad to see today's mission didn't ruin your precious party plans," Daniel muttered, head buried in his arms on the table. Vala was far too excited to note the sarcasm in his voice and instead she headed for the door.

"I expect to see you all at the party. And Daniel, darling, don't be late picking me up," she said as she turned around in the doorway, winking at Daniel when he glared up at her. Before he could get a word out, Vala had disappeared down the hall and out of sight.

"I should've left her to deal with Alias or better yet, the creature in the woods," he muttered and Sam gave him a playful nudge.

"Stop it. You can't blame her for what happened back there and regarding the party… well, Vala loves a good party and God knows she hasn't experienced many since joining the SGC. I say after today she certainly deserves a little slack," she said looking from Daniel to Cam. Her tone of voice was soft but firm and the look in her eyes wasn't to be ignored. Daniel sighed as he got up and exchanged glances with his team mates.

"Well, guess I'll be seeing you at the party," he said with a frown and dragged his feet as he slowly left the debrief room.

* * *

"Okay, so I've done some thinking. Even though it was mostly your fault we faced execution, I can see now how you didn't mean for anything bad to happen. On the other hand your way of dealing with things didn't help matters and you really should start planning ahead for the sake of the entire team!"

Daniel exhaled sharply, staring back at himself with a tired face. He glanced down at the black tuxedo and once again felt like a dressed up puppet. For the past half hour he'd been stuck in front of the mirror trying to think of something nice to say to Vala. So far every version of his so-called excuse ended up sounding like a scolding instead, making Daniel more frustrated than when he tried putting on his tie. He knew Sam had been right earlier but whenever he thought about Vala's behavior on the mission he felt like stop trying.

"This is ridiculous," Daniel muttered, tossing the tie aside and staring at his own reflection in silence.

"Look, Vala, despite what happened back there I realize I could've acted differently… and you handled yourself nicely in the end."

He grunted and rolled his eyes, turning away from the mirror.

"'_Handled yourself nicely_'?! What kind of lame thing is that to say!" he cried out, barely acknowledging the soft knock on the door. He abruptly stopped pacing the room and pulled the door open, staring blankly at Sam.

"I take it you're not ready yet?" she asked with an amused smile, pointing to her wristwatch.

"Not exactly. Guess I need a woman's touch for that," Daniel said and turned away from the doorway, walked over to the bed and picked up the tie. Sam closed the door behind her as she stepped inside, her pumps making a hollow clacking sound as she moved across the floor.

"At least you're not afraid to admit it," she said and dropped down her purse on the bed.

"So, is Jack making an appearance or what?" Daniel blurted out as Sam wrapped the tie around his neck. She smirked at his poor attempt of changing the subject.

"Last I heard the General managed to convince him to pop by and be his usual charming self," she said.

"Maybe the party won't be so boring after all then," Daniel said and Sam chuckled.

"It never is when Jack O'Neill is around."

She gently put the finishing touches on the tie and stepped back with a satisfied look.

"There you go. Now all you need is Vala, whom by the way hasn't set foot outside her quarters since we got back," Sam said and Daniel raised an eyebrow.

"You can't be serious. We've been back for almost six hours now and not even Cam spends that much time getting ready," he said and Sam shrugged.

"Apparently she hasn't even stopped by the mass for any food, which is why I'm heading over there right now. I have a feeling she'll want my help," she said and picked up her purse. "Don't be late."

Daniel nodded at Sam as she headed out the door, leaving him alone with his chaos of thoughts tumbling around inside his head.

He sighed tiredly and reached for the book on his nightstand, randomly flipping through the pages. He glanced over at his alarm clock every so often, counting down the remaining minutes till the party started.

* * *

**TO BE CONTINUED...**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: **So here you have it; the last chapter of _Time In Between_. The ending is slightly different than I'd expected when I first started writing, but I hope it turned out okay after all. As mentioned in profile, which will be updated regularly regarding my fan fictions, I have two more **Stargate** fan fics in the works but sadly my muse is currently missing so finishing them might take a while longer. Anyways, enjoy the chapter and I hope the ending doesn't cause much of a stir...

* * *

**CHAPTER IX**

Vala added the finishing touches of her make-up just in time. She took a step back and admired the result with an excited grin.

"Hello gorgeous!" she whispered to herself and pulled a hand through her curly volumized black hair before exiting the bathroom. She inhaled the fresh scent of jasmine that still lingered in the room, finding it nearly impossible to stop grinning from ear to ear. Her very first official party! Naturally she had been other parties before but none this prestige and none where she'd received an actual invitation.

Vala tossed some random necessities into her new evening purse and stepped over to the dresser where her jewelry was carefully laid out. She picked up the pearl earrings and gently put them on before reaching for the silver necklace.

"Perfect!" she mused and twirled around in front of the mirror. Her strapless black ballroom dress hugged her curves perfectly and the white lace underskirt added a nice twist to the outfit. She looked down at her bare feet, suddenly remembering to put on her high heels. To go with the dress she'd picked out a pair of black satin pumps with little bowties on the back. Vala walked around in the room to get a feel of the new shoes, certainly making her feel like a princess.

She was in the midst of walking back and forth when there was a firm knock on the door. Vala looked up from her shoes at the door, then over at her alarm clock. Sure enough, it was time and he was punctual as always. Vala barely managed to suppress a giggle as she went to open the door.

"Hey, listen I –"

Daniel trailed off as he saw Vala standing in the doorway, half leaning against the open door. He overlooked her pleased smile and instead his eyes became fixated on her outfit. The dress was far more flattering than he'd care to admit and the shoes did highlight her legs in a very revealing way. Once Daniel had noted every piece of her outfit he realized that every detail about it was, well, pretty much breathtaking.

"Daniel? You alright?"

Daniel snapped out of his daze at the sound of Vala's voice. She was still smiling as expected and it quickly turned into a smirk when she saw the look on Daniel's face. All those hours of preparation had definitely paid off.

"Yep," Daniel said and nervously cleared his throat, for once oblivious to Vala's teasing smirk. She stepped back and gestured for Daniel to step inside.

"I'll only be a minute," Vala said as he hesitantly stepped over the threshold. He buried his hands in his pockets, glancing around the room as Vala disappeared into the bathroom. He reluctantly decided to give the whole excuse thing a try once she returned. Chances however were that it would end in total disaster one way or another and Daniel really didn't want to be the reason Vala skipped the party and earning himself another talk with Sam.

"Okay then!" Vala exclaimed with a smile as she reappeared, picking up her evening purse off the nightstand along the way. "Shall we?"

Daniel opened his mouth to speak but found no words being uttered. Vala's smile turned hesitant and Daniel quickly opened up the door.

"After you," he said with a polite smile while holding the door open for Vala as she stepped out into the hallway.

"My, aren't we being quite the gentlemen! I'm impressed," she grinned and Daniel almost instantly rolled his eyes at her playfulness.

"Glad to hear. So, how are the nerves?" he asked as they headed down the nearly empty hallway. Vala shrugged carelessly.

"Granted, this is my first official event since joining SG-1 but it'll take more than a few politicians to rattle this girl's nerves," she said with a mischievous look.

"As long as we're clear that you're on your best behavior, I imagine the party will turn out quite pleasant after all," Daniel said and Vala grinned at him.

"You're only saying that because Jack is coming. Sam had the same reaction when she told me about it earlier. What is it with Jack O'Neill and parties?"

"It's a long story.

"So give me the cliff-note version. We've got time."

"Fine. But I'm only gonna say this once so you better pay attention."

* * *

"See? Wasn't so bad, was it?"

Daniel downed the last of his water, trying to ignore the smug look on Vala's face.

"Well if you don't count the time where you nearly crashed into that group of politicians, then yeah I'd say you did well," Cam said with an amused smile.

"Look, it wasn't my fault they didn't think of moving off the dance floor since they weren't _dancing_!" Vala exclaimed and Daniel sighed, turning around and focusing on the buffet table instead.

"A piece of advice, princess," Cam said. "You might wanna stay off the dance floor as well… for everyone's safety."

Vala narrowed her eyes and glared at him, hastily turning away from him. That's when she noticed Jack across the room, chatting up two Generals. When they suddenly burst into laughter Vala cocked her head to the side with a wicked grin.

"So the stories are true after all."

Cam and Daniel exchanged glances, unsure they liked what was going on inside that mind of hers.

"Hey guys!" Sam said as she appeared next to Cam, champagne glass in hand. "Enjoying the party?"

"Not as much as our little prom queen," Cam said and Vala turned around looking at him with a confused frown.

"I thought we agreed to no witty Earth remarks for tonight," she said and Sam chuckled, walking over to Vala.

"What Cam is trying to say is that you're looking stunning," she whispered and Vala grinned at Cam.

"Really?" she said and Cam nearly choked on his beer.

"What? No, I meant –"

"So, Vala, how about doing some mingling? I'm sure Jack won't mind if we swoop in and save him from those two Generals," Sam said and put an arm around Vala's shoulders, leading her away from Cam and Daniel.

As a waiter swept past her with a tray of champagne glasses, Vala quickly grabbed a glass. She took a sip on their way over to Jack, whose face lit up when he noticed the two women.

"Well, looks like your date just ditched you for another guy," Cam joked and gave Daniel a half-hearted slap on the back.

"She's not my date," Daniel muttered.

"Whatever you say, Sunshine. I'm gonna go see what Teal'c is up to," Cam said and quickly disappeared before Daniel had the chance to respond to his little comment.

"Great. I'll just stand here looking stupid then," he mumbled and tossed the empty water bottle.

He suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder and as she turned he was met by Vala's smiling face.

"Come on, darling! We can't have you standing here all alone when there are people to meet and greet!" she exclaimed and grabbed hold of Daniel's hand, pulling him with her over to Sam and Jack.

"How many of those have you had?" Daniel asked, nodding at the half empty champagne glass in Vala's other hand.

"So far only one and quite frankly, I was expecting a little more taste considering your people seem to become frequently intoxicated by it," she said and abruptly came to a stop in front of Jack and Sam. They were in the middle of an amusing discussion by the looks of it and Daniel couldn't help feeling self-conscious as they turned their focus to him instead.

"Danny boy! Never expected to run into you at this little shindig!" Jack said with a smirk and gave Daniel a teasing slap on the shoulder.

"Right back at ya. What did Landry have to do to get you here?" Daniel asked and Jack shrugged.

"The usual, you know. There might've been a mentioning of clearing all my previous poker debts," he said with shifty eyes and at this not even Daniel couldn't refrain from smiling. Sam and Vala exchanged glances, as well as smirks, over the tip of their glasses.

"So, Jackson, you having fun yet?" Jack asked and Daniel hesitated at answering when he noticed the sneaky expression on his friend's face.

"About as much fun as one can have at these events," he said and unwillingly glanced in Vala's direction when uttering the last few words. She was momentarily busy chatting with Sam and Daniel found himself admiring her dress for the second time that evening. It wasn't just the dress that made her look different, and it wasn't solely because of the champagne that Daniel found her behavior to be different. But for once 'different' wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

Jack looked from Daniel to Vala and then back again at Daniel, barely able to hold back a smirk.

"Interesting…"

* * *

"I gotta say, General Landry does know a thing or two about throwing a good party!"

"Actually, Landry isn't the one –"

"I mean, did you know your politicians could be so charming? And the buffet was heavenly! The champagne, or bubbly as Cam so colorfully called it, could've been more affective however."

"Vala –"

"And did you know Jack was such a skillful dancer? Now I see why Sam was so delighted over his company! The man does brighten up a boring crowd. Not that you were boring, darling, but it wouldn't hurt to smile once in a while –"

"Vala!"

Daniel came to a halt, frustration building up inside. Vala snapped out of her ecstatic state and gave him a puzzled look.

"Something the matter, Daniel?" she asked and Daniel sighed, slowly resuming walking again. Vala feel into pace alongside him, still looking confused.

"There's something I've been meaning to talk to you about," Daniel started, staring down at the floor as they were heading back to their quarters.

"_Well_?" Vala pressed on, growing impatient waiting for him to continue.

"The thing is, I didn't exactly give you the benefit of the doubt when it came to the whole Alias affair… I mean situation!"

Vala smiled at the sight of an awkward Daniel and she wasn't sure if the five glasses of champagne had anything to do with it.

"No you didn't," she teased and Daniel groaned inwardly. He had to take Sam's advice and apologize to the most stubborn woman he'd ever met.

"Anyways, since I haven't –"

"Want some bubbly?" Vala blurted out, holding a tiny bottle of champagne in her hand.

"Where did you get that?" Daniel asked, deep down already knowing the answer.

"Got it at the gift table. So, you want a sip?" Vala asked and Daniel stared blankly at her until she shrugged and put away the bottle in her evening purse.

"Your loss," she said and suddenly realized they had reached their destination.

"_Vala_!" Daniel abruptly exclaimed.

"Hmm?"

"I'm to apologize here!"

A wicked smile spread across Vala's face as she turned to Daniel.

"I know you are, darling," she said and suddenly Daniel felt her lips on his. They lingered there for a moment or two before pulling away, leaving behind a bittersweet taste of champagne and lip gloss.

"There. All's forgiven," she said and winked. Before Daniel had the chance to respond or even properly process what just happened, she turned around and walked over to her quarters. Daniel watched as she closed the door behind her, once again left looking like a fool.

* * *

Darkness roamed over the small peasant village except for in one of the houses. A fire was making crackling sounds as it burned through the wood in the fireplace. In the chair facing away from the fire sat a man growing impatient.

"You failed."

The man quickly turned sideways and got out of the chair as his guest stepped out from the shadows.

"Actually, Plan A failed. My Plan B may still prove successful."

"The plan was to obtain Vala Mal Doran and if possible, Daniel Jackson. You did neither."

"Wasn't my fault they had backup. Maybe if you'd used that staff of yours, we'd gotten all of SG-1 as a bonus."

"The Orici's plan didn't include the others. She won't be pleased to hear about your failure, Alias," the Prior said and Alias shook his head.

"What I'm trying to say is that your Orici could still track down Vala and Dr. Jackson. I had one of my men plant a device on one of them, making it possible for you to trace them once they go off world again," he explained. The Prior stared at him in silence and Alias quickly handed over a smaller hand device that the Prior hesitantly took.

"It's inactive at the moment because they need to travel through a Stargate for it to sense the mark's tracker. This thing shows you where they are once they're off world and you should be able to tag along back with them through the Stargate if you so wish," Alias said and the Prior looked down at the inactive device.

"If the Orici approves, you shall be richly rewarded… as long as you speak of this to no one."

"My lips are sealed and as far as my people know, Vala Mal Doran was never here," Alias said.

"I'll see to that," the Prior said and disappeared into the shadows again without another word.

* * *

**THE END!**

**A/N II: **You didn't really think I'd leave it at that, hmm? See, I'm one of those people who finishes a story before even uploading the first chapter so while I've been updating _Time In Between _I've also been busy writing the sequel. So yes, there will be an actual ending to this storyline but it won't take place on the same planet or directly involve the same guest characters. At the moment I can't promise you when the first chapter of the sequel will be uploaded but I'll try my best to speed up the process. Until then, let your fangirl minds run wild!


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